The Princess & The Ivory Tower: Part III

“I mean, haven't you ever watched a Horror film? There are RULES! Yes, like in Scream…

“And even though that particular storyline took place in a modern day, American suburb; I am pretty sure walking down a darkly lit, barely visible path, through a spooky, haunted, enchanted forest – alone – would be on the list entitled: 'what not to do if you want to survive a Horror movie based on a Fairy Tale'.

“Though, it's slightly ironic how the character who originally narrates the rules in the first instalment of the Scream trilogy, was then later horribly killed in the second part, only to be 'resurrected' on screen in the last film via a video he apparently recorded prior to his gruesome murder, in order to impart some more rule-based wisdom, which he obviously didn't follow very well, seeing as he was speaking from beyond the grave. It really makes you wonder how much he actually knew…

“Even so, I think my original point was valid… hey, are you even listening to me? HELLOOOOO!”

But Rapunzel was not listening; she knew the only way to reach her desired destination was to ignore the single remaining sensible voice left in her somewhat messed-up head. She just had to keep moving, and she'd be there soon enough.

In the mean time, the unique soundtrack of the forest, produced by an orchestra of its inhabitants, served to drown out the warning bells. Step by step, Rapanzel's shoes played percussion with the organic matter that littered the ground beneath her: swish, swish, crunch, crunch, rustle, rustle, swish – crunch, crunch, rustle, rustle, swish, swish, squelch…

“Ergh! What the…?”

Rapunzel had just learnt that the old saying about bears conducting certain activities in the woods was, in fact, true – which was rather unfortunate for her – and especially unfortunate for her new Manalo pumps.

Even so, it was not wise to dwell on such unpleasantness for too long, especially considering that the owner of this particular 'instrument' may still be lurking in the area. So onwards she squelched, with a grimace planted firmly on her face, resolving to take more care with where her feet landed in the near future.

Thankfully the near future was rather short-lived. Before she even had time to fully wipe the squelch off her shoes, the path ended abruptly at the mouth of a small clearing in the forest. She remained on the fringes for a moment; arms, only a second ago swinging back and forth with might and determination, were now limp and still by her sides; eyes wide – with confusion, rather than fear – as they fervently scanned the scene, eagerly swallowing up the view; greedily feeding her mind with the information that it demanded, in order that it may attempt to explain why she was seeing what she was now seeing.

“This is it…” she quietly muttered – but it was not what she had expected.